Hotel Paihia, Paihia

Advantages: comfortable, friendly, yummy food
Disadvantages: none

...While on my recent tour around New Zealand, we stayed in 12 different hotels. Yes indeedy folks, it wasn't even worth unpacking in most of them. The Paihia Pacific Resort Hotel is situated in the Bay of Islands, on the North Island. This was our base for two nights while we visited 'nearby' Cape Reinga, which was, in fact, about 4-5 hours drive away at the very northernmost tip of the island. But that's nothing to the New Zealanders! * The hotel * Well from my title you can imagine the décor, yes it's got a pale pink exterior. But don't let that put you off. Our tour bus was greeted by the owners, who pointed us in the right direction to our rooms. There are three blocks of accommodation which are all tiered. Our block had two levels and there are fairly steep steps up to your room if you're not on ground level, so it... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average very helpful

Advantages: Countryside, activities, food, people
Disadvantages: Shops all shut on Sundays

...We had a fantastic time in New Zealand. We flew into Auckland, and travelled around the North Island, taking in some caving in Waitomo and some power boating in Paihia in the north. We really enjoyed every minute - hiring a car is incredibly cheap (from £6 per day) so transport was no problem. The food and accommodation is cheap and plentiful - we particularly enjoyed our all you can eat curry in Rotorua, which incidentally is home to the famous luge - a sledge on wheels on which you career down a concrete track at high speed - great fun but can ruin your clothes if you take a tumble. We went to a maori dinner and learned to do the hakka, and ate food cooked in an underground oven. All the time you are surrounded by beautiful, unspoilt countryside and friendly New Zealanders, and the pace of life is so laid back. I'd go back... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: beautiful, loads to do and see
Disadvantages: nothing like it in the UK

...A lot of people go just to Auckland and can tend to miss out on Northland. Don't get me wrong, there's loads to do in Auckland and it's the biggest city in NZ and well worth seeing, but you're missing out on a lot further north. About three hours drive north you'll come to Whangarei, the gateway to the north, which is a reasonably big town. The coastal road up is breathtaking during the summer (Dec to Feb ish). About an hour or so further up the coast is the Bay of Islands, which if you go anywhere in the north island, GO HERE! It's a hotspot during new year in paihia (spelling...). You can go whale watching, dolphin watching, snorkelling, scuba diving or just relax in a very beautiful part of the world. Further up the coast at the very tip of NZ, Cape Reinga (where all the souls leave from NZ according to legend), 90 mile beach... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful